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MobileMe drove Steve Jobs to foul-mouthed fury

If Steve Jobs were an App he'd ban himself from the App Store

Apple fanbois were shocked to the core today at the news that not only does Steve Jobs swear but that the sainted one actually declared that a Mac product was a pile of steaming crap.

Jobs' alleged tendency to rant and rage at his cowering VPs was revealed in a piece by Fortune magazine.

The piece itself is subscription only, but according to macstories.net, Jobs was reduced to foul-mouthed fury by the vendor's MobileMe service when it launched in 2008.

After reports of crashing servers, laggardly logons, and general crappiness, Jobs tongue-lashed the MobileMe team, asking them "Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?" When one foolhardy exec explained the aim of the service, Jobs shot back: "So why the fuck doesn't it do that."

Yes, if Steve Jobs was an app, he'd ban himself from the App store.

Saint Steve told team members that they had tarnished the firm's reputation and "should hate each other for having let each other down".

He then summarily fired a few employees, pour encourager les autres.

MobileMe has become a true red-headed stepchild at Apple. When the firm launches its full-fat cloud offering later this year, it will operate under the iCloud banner.

Not that Jobs is a complete tyrant. He will apparently, accept excuses and reasons for screwups from low-level employees. But if you're a VP, you no longer have that luxury.

Thankfully, Fortune has taken it upon itself to cheer Jobs up. The article is only available to the mag's subscribers, or by buying the iPad version of maagazine through the iTunes store, for a Steve satisfying $4.99.

So far, there's no suggestion that Steve Jobs tear up furniture, or sweats profusely, meaning that Steve Ballmer is still ahead by a nose in the crazed CEO stakes. ®